Grace glanced at Cleta’s expression. It wasn’t particularly negative.
In the first place, Cleta couldn’t refuse Grace because they had an arrangement to sell soap together.
Cleta asked a question.
“But there’s a problem.”
“What is it?”
“What about the problem of sourcing materials and labor? And the location too…”
“That’s already been taken care of.”
Grace had naturally thought about all of that before proposing it to Cleta.
Grace knew well that sympathy without a solution was a frustrating thing.
‘At least the staff in the annex show some kindness when they sympathize with me.’
“As for black tea, I happen to know a small tea plantation.”
Of course, it wasn’t really a coincidence. It was a small tea garden that she had luckily bought at a cheap price. The tea didn’t need to be of such high quality to be used for tea bags.
‘Since it’s meant to be brewed casually anyway, the difference won’t be significant.’
After obtaining the title of “first,” they could think more about branding. It was a problem to be tackled later.
Furthermore, it was a problem to be discussed only if they made a profit. They didn’t even know if they would succeed or not, so Grace couldn’t understand why they were celebrating with champagne when the product wasn’t even completed yet.
Though she kept her thoughts to herself.
“Besides, we can use this orphanage as the location. We can start selling here. It’s a business started to raise funds for the orphanage, so there will definitely be people interested in buying, regardless of the product’s quality.”
For example, there would be always people who want to show off their kindness.
Grace didn’t believe that tea bags as a product would immediately captivate everyone.
“What about the staff?”
“The mothers of the children. We can hire them to work here.”
Grace said it as if it were obvious, but Cleta’s face turned pale at her words.
“There are mothers among the children here, right? … For example, those who are single mothers and have to leave their child here because they can’t take care of them.”
“…How did you know?”
“If you’re asking how, then…”
Grace looked out the window at the children playing outside. She looked at their clothes. They were all similar, but some of the children’s clothes had some differences.
“It’s obvious if you pay attention.”
They were relatively new, had some jewelry on, or their shoes looked sturdy.
“Do the children know?”
Cleta nodded her head.
“Then they must want to see them.”
Grace smiled.
“People have to meet their family. Especially if it’s a loving family.”
“You have a good eye.”
“Well, thank you?”
The water on the stove in the kitchen began to boil.
Cleta got up from her seat, poured water into a cup with a missing handle, and put the tea bag that Grace had made into it.
“It doesn’t make sense for you to be the only one supporting the orphanage children. Going along with my suggestion can only mean that there wasn’t enough funding to begin with.”
Cleta nodded her head in agreement to the well-spoken words.
“Some of the children’s birth mothers must be sending money from other places. If not here… there wouldn’t be any orphanages where they can meet their children.”
To be precise, there were similar institutions to orphanages. They could leave their children at a temple with no obligation, but if they did, they could never see their children again.
‘Why do they want to see their children when they abandoned them in the first place?’
Grace had no prejudice against single mothers. She thought everyone must have had their own circumstances. Besides, didn’t they want to see their own children, and didn’t the children know of their mother’s existence?
This was a situation where they had no other choice.
‘For example, people’s gaze.’
“Since this is about the orphanage, I’ll ask. Where is the head of the institution? Is he still outside?”
“No. He left when he realized that proper funding wasn’t coming in anymore. Since then, I’ve gathered all the money I could.”
‘Okay.’
There was no reason to hesitate any longer.
“I’ll hire all the birth mothers of the children. Don’t worry about the amount. Even though it’s not a huge sum, but it will still be a fair amount.”
Grace thought carefully.
“This orphanage doesn’t have many children, but the building is quite large. How about turning some of the spaces into workspaces and the rest into staff housing?”
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